Nazia Saeed
- SEC to introduce an innovation exemption by year-end, giving crypto companies temporary relief from legacy securities rules.
- First multi-asset crypto ETP approved in the US under new listing standards, providing exposure to BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA.
- Atkins promotes digital asset innovation, contrasting with the previous administration by narrowing the scope of which tokens are treated as securities.
Paul Atkins, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced plans to introduce an “innovation exemption” by the end of 2025, aimed at streamlining approval for digital-asset products.
Speaking on Fox Business, Atkins explained that the exemption would act as a regulatory carve-out, allowing crypto companies temporary relief from older securities rules. This would enable firms to launch new products under lighter oversight while the SEC develops modernized regulations tailored to digital assets.
We’re looking for an innovation exemption — to try to get that in place by year end, Atkins said.
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The initiative is part of a broader effort to modernize SEC rules and provide a more predictable framework for crypto innovation.
Multi-asset ETP approval highlights regulatory progress
Atkins also referenced the recent approval of the first multi-asset crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) in the US. The ETP offers exposure to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP, Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA).
The product was listed under the SEC’s new generic listing standards (Rule 6c-11), which reduce approval timelines for ETFs. Atkins emphasized that the standards provide a stable platform for introducing new products:
It’s not just an ad hoc type of approach. We’re trying to give the marketplace some kind of stable platform upon which they can introduce new products.
Atkins advocates for crypto innovation and regulatory modernization
Since taking office in April, Atkins has consistently promoted digital asset innovation. He launched Project Crypto in July 2025, an initiative aimed at modernizing securities rules to enable US financial markets to operate on-chain.
In August, speaking at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, he clarified that very few tokens are inherently securities, noting that classification depends on the context of their sale and packaging. This perspective marks a notable shift from his predecessor, Gary Gensler, who applied the Howey test broadly to most digital assets.
